DocFest always includes a satisfying selection of music-related movies. This year they screened quite a few, including Fearless Freaks (about the Flaming Lips), and hosted a mega-dominant experience double shot of very awesome with the screening of I Am Thor, about 80s muscle rocker Jon Mikl Thor. As a bonus, a performance by Thor himself happened at Thee Parkside (review here).

Here’s a couple more music-related reviews (and some takes on other films, too). >>

Danny Says

You may never have heard about Danny Fields, but you know the fruits of his labor. During his careers as a publicist for Elektra Records and the editor for a teen magazine, Fields signed the MC5 (and their “little bother” band, the Stooges) to Elektra. Later on, he signed the Ramones to Sire and became co-manager to them, taking them to the UK — and thus changing punk music forever. He also played the yenta to Jim Morrison and Nico, introducing the two gorgeous creatures and recounting how they seemed stunned and paralyzed by each other’s beauty. Danny learned how to fake it until he made it. He has a natural talent for finding other talent. He was friends with Edie Sedgwick and the gang at Andy Warhol’s Factory, where he learned that fitting in meant adopting an iron-clad facade of ennui. It’s hilarious and insightful stuff, and if you’re a fan of rock and roll you should see this movie.

He recorded his phone calls all the time, and we are the richer for it: One fantastic sequence is hearing Lou Reed rave about the Ramones in 1975: “Without a doubt the most fantastic thing… bar none. I mean, it makes everybody look so … wimpy,” says Reed. (One technical note: from the sound, it appears that either the tape was sped up or Lou’s famous baritone jumped an octave through sheer excitement. No matter. It’s rock and roll history.) Danny has a lot of this kind of documentation (Fields’ personal archive now resides at Yale’s Beinecke Library) and filmmaker Brendan Toller mined it to great success. Toller also interviewed many folks for the movie, including Iggy Pop, Lenny Kaye, Judy Collins, Fayette Hauser (Cockettes), Jonathan Richman and Tommy Ramone.

Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be?

This movie explained to me a few things, who co-wrote that song Obsession made a hit by the band Animotion (which I usually take as a Human League song for the first few bars), how mega-groupie Pamela Des Barres got her last name and, mainly, what an interesting and cool guy the film’s main subject is. Michael Des Barres was an English rocker born with a title (Lord Marquis Michael Philip Des Barres) and grew to develop great charm, great hair and cheekbones that could cut a line of coke. Michael has some stories to tell, although he doesn’t always remember them. (Director J. Elvis Weinstein occasionally prompts him the details.) He had an extended stint on McGyver as a villain, penned quite a few songs (including the aforementioned Obsession — which he says is about drugs, and not a woman, even if it contains the lyrics Who do you want me to be / To make you sleep with me?) and was once called upon to front the 80s band Power Station after original singer Robert Palmer declined to tour. Michael Des Barres’ fortunes rose and fell, but his showman talent, his penchant for reinvention, and his incessant positive energy, have always allowed him to find footing and — more importantly — happiness. You’ll come away a fan. Don Johnson, Ed Begley, Jr., Pamela Des Barres appear in this, too!

On Her Own

Nancy Prebilich seen in Morgan Schmidt-Feng’s documentary ‘On Her Own.’

Director Morgan Schmidt-Feng met Nancy Prebelich when he visited her family’s farm to shoot footage for a cooking show. He soon realized the potential to make a feature length doc about the farm (Gleason Ranch in Bodega) and the struggle to keep the 5th generation homestead operational, profitable and intact. The cycle of life is prominent, and there’s lots of death present here. Farming meat a messy, bloody business, and this movie brings that home. It’s an epic story and very American — small farms continue to disappear across America. Nancy (and Morgan) was at the screening at the Roxie, and her passionate energy was very evident. She was very emotional when recounting some of the folks who helped her along the way as the cash flow was restricted, She specifically called out local Bi-Rite Market owner Sam Mogannam for his help during rough times. She also reminded us that shopping and eating locally is one of the best things we can do to help create a sustainable, smaller scale healthier food supply chain.

Stink!

Jon Whelan in ‘Stink!’

See that canister of baby powder? It probably lists two ingredients: Talc and fragrance. OK, talc… but what the hell is fragrance? You’ll probably never know. Companies do not have to disclose this kind of thing — it’s considered a trade secret. As long as the ingredient is not on the FDA’s list of dangerous compounds, it’s OK to use. But that doesn’t mean it’s not affecting our health and our ecosystems, and this is what drives Jon Whelan in his pursuit to shine a light on the chemistry found in everyday products, from flame-retardant pajamas to babe-attracting Axe Body Spray. The cause is noble, and Whelan engages in some satisfying ‘gotcha’ journalism to suitable targets — like double-speaking industry lobbyists, politicians beholden to corporate dollars — and he outlines a good argument that will affect the viewer and spike an interest, curiosity and pissed-off skepticism about the invisible chemistry all around us, (Europe has much stricter guidelines than the U.S. regarding chemicals used in products and has has banned over 1000 chemicals; the US only nine.)

However, the movie could’ve been shortened by 20 minutes and still have done the job. Part of the problem is that Whelan has given this quest a personal angle — his wife died from cancer, leaving him to alone to raise their two daughters — and the interludes of home video and family scenes take too much time and space. His devotion and love cannot be faulted, but they distract here.

The Sandwich Nazi

Vancouver deli proprietor Salam Kahil is a rambunctious guy, who loves to regale his patrons with stories of his past as a male escort and the the escapades that he and his prodigious penis have enjoyed throughout the years. He’s also a male whore with a heart of gold, and regularly donates time and food to Vancouver’s poorest street people. Director Lewis Bennett knew a good thing when he saw one, and putting a camera in front of someone like Kahil — a good guy, a fun(ny) guy, an honest guy who can make a mean sammitch — was a good move. Much of the movie is a fun raunchy romp with the extroverted Kahil, but the pace and emotion of the movie changes when he finally revisits his family back in Lebanon, and realizations of mortality, shame, forgiveness, fear make this biopic doc a well rounded experience.

The Decent One

A film about Heinrich Himmler, one of the leaders in the Nazi party of Germany. The movie traces his life through diary entries and correspondence between him and his confidants, most notably his wife, Marga. These letters and diaries were found by Allied troops in the Himmler home in Grund, Germany, but they were never turned over to higher-ups. Director Vanessa Lapa pairs these words from Himmler himself with vintage footage — Himler’s home movies and photographs, newsreels. It’s effective and devastating. “Despite all the work I am doing fine and I sleep well,” is one highlighted line Himmler writes to his wife. The “work” he was complaining about was implementing the genocidal policies of the Holocaust. It’s unfathomable stuff.

Us, Naked: Trixie and Monkey

“Be careful to not make your dream too small because then you’re really screwed if you get it and it wasn’t enough.” That’s a great line, and one of the best moments in Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander‘s movie that follows two burlesque performers, Trixie and Monkey, on their struggle to perfect their act and craft to the point where it can sustain them. This is a long form doc which follows the duo for several years. Hollander is given an all-access pass to their lives — the first shot of the movie is Trixie waking up in her bed — and we are witness to all the behind the scenes planning that go into making things look easy onstage, the Duco glue, the glitter, the sewing machines, the rehearsals, the sweat, the fake money ears and the bananas that dangle at crotch level. Everyone can relate to this story.